Fluid influx indicator



M. M, KINLEY FLUD INFLUX INDICATOR June:A 5, 1945.

Filed Aug. 18, 1941 Patented June 5, 1945 Y UNI'I'EI) STATES PATENTOFFICE FLUID INFLUX INDICATOR I Myron M. Kinley, Houston, Tex.

l Application August 18, 1941, Serial No. 407,339

3 Claims. (Cl. 175-182) tions for production from' a single stratum or aplurality of strata.

Frequently encroaching or unwanted fluids enter the well bore, as forexample where' salt water enters and is produced with the oil. ,In suchcases it is necessary to separate the salt water from the oil and todispose of such salt water in any suitable manner. Similarly, in event asupply of fresh water is desired, the in-v iiux of salt 'water maycontaminate the fresh water entering' the well bore. In either event itls desirable to ascertain the-exact location and g the nature of theuids entering the well so that necessary steps such as squeezecementing, pack oifs, etc. may be taken to control the influx ofundesired formation fluids. At the same time,

it is desirable that the method and apparatus used for locating the,level oi influx of the various fluids shall not impede the flow of thefluids ln the well bore. l

It is the 'primary object of the present invention to determine thelocation of influx to the various iiuids in a well bore and the natureof theiluids entering the wells\ at various levels throughout the areaof iniiux.

vAnother object is to segregate an area within a well and to determinethe nature of fluids entering thewell through such area.

A more specic object isto provide an assembly which will segregate anarea and obtain an indication of the nature of the uids entering sucharea but which Adevice will at the same time per- '.mit continued now offluids longitudinally of the well. including those iluids which enter.through the segregated area. 1

Still another object is to provide novel apparatus for determining atdiiferent levels in a well connection with the accompanying drawing inwhich: A

Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a portion of a well in which there ispositioned a device embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing a manner of obtaining the desiredelectrical measurements.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing the device embodying the invention ispositioned within a well bore I provided with a screen 2 having aplurality of openings 3 to permit fluids from the surrounding formation4 to enter and to rise within the well as indicated by the arrows 5. Theiluids entering the/well bore may include mixed gaseous and liquidconstituents and frequently it is desired to ascertain the exact pointor points of entry of the respectivefluids so that, as alreadyindicated, necessary steps may be taken to enhance economy of productionand conservation of the desired fluids. 'ro this end the inventioncomprehends an assembly l0 to be lowered on a conductor cable ilcontaining one or more insulated conductors i2 so that desiredelectrical measurements can be made in the manner and for the purposesappearing hereinafter.

The assembly I0 comprises an elongated lhollow or tubular body member I5having a longitudinal bore I6 which is closed at its upper end by meansof a plug or head member llto which the lowering cable is secured.'JClosely adjacent the plug l1 are a plurality of openings i8 in themember i5 so that fluids entering the well below the assembly I0 canArise freely within the well bore regardless of the presence of theassembly I0 therein. n r

Below the openings I8 there is provided a packer assembly 20 about themember l5, such packer serving to provide a sealbetween the member andthe walls o'f the surrounding screen 2. This packer has an inner collarporthe nature of enterin fluids by determining an g a pair of spacedconcentric tubes 2li and 2l. Such 'electricalcharacteristic of thefluids entering at such levels.

f The foregoing objects, together with additional objects, will be morefully apparent from a contion 2i filling the annular space between the Aof fluid upwardly about the'member I5 as in-`r dicated by the .arrows-24. Y

'I'he collar 2l is reduced both interiorly and exteriorly at its lowerend and has attached thereto tubes may be of any suitable material butare 'preferably an insulating material so as to more eillcie'ntly servea purpose to be further described.

sideration of the following description taken in s Spaced below thelower ends of the tubes 2i .tends downwardly as indicated at 30 and'terminates in a ring or electrode 32 which surrounds the tubular member25 whereby such electrode is y located within the stream of fluid movingupwardly between the tubular members 25 and v2li as indicated by thearrows 3|.

It is to be notedl that the spaced packers land 21 serve to segregate anarea of the walls of the well so that fluid entering through suchvsegregated area will flow in the manner indicated by the arrows 3|.Attention will now be directed to Fig. 2 which indicates the manner ofobtaining a measure ent of an electrical characteristic of such fluidthe fluid entering between the packers when the assembly is located at adesired level within the well.

The conductor cable I2 is connected to a measuring device such as abridge 40 having arms 4|, 42 and 43 which, as is well known, may containany suitable resistance and/ory impedances so that-fa balance of thebridge or a galvanometer deflection may be obtained. The fourth arm ofthe bridge comprises the conductors I2 and il,

, the electrode 32, the casing and screen M and s an indication of thenature of 2 and the fluid passing through the screen 2 i adjacent to andflowing upwardly between the tubular members' 25 and 26. Since therespective elements of this arm of the bridge remain con- `stant exceptthe fluid flowing along the path 3|,

of the fluid which is segregated and is located between the tubularmembers 25 and 2Q. If the well is flowing under pressures exerted withinthe earth formations measurements may be made.

of such flowing fluids. If, however, a static condition exists in a wellsuch condition can be overcome by producing an unbalanced condition byremoval of liquid from the well whereupon for` mation liquids enter thewell and measurements' thereof can be made in the manner already setBroadly the invention comprehends a method and apparatus for locatingthe area or areas of fluid influx to wells and the nature of the influx-at different levels within such area or areas.

What is claimed is:

l. An apparatus to detect the electrical characteristics of aliquidentering a well through the well casing comprising a body, anupper packer on said body, a pair of spaced tubes of insulating materialon said packer and body so as to provide an annular passagetherebetween.

a lower packer on said body disposed below said tubes, said annularpassage being open at the bottom for the entry of liquid, an outletthrough said upper packer from said passage, and an electrical circuitincluding a bridge having one leg that includes the casing and anelectrode well within said annular passage whereby fluid present betweenthe casing and the electrode vconstitutes the unknown impedance in saidleg, and means `to indicate unbalancing of said bridge as caused `byvariation in the electrical characteristics of the liquid passingthrough said passage.

r2. An apparatus to detect the electrical characteristics of a liquidentering a well through the well casing comprising a body, an upperpacker on said body, a pair of spaced tubes of insulating material onsaid packer and body so as to provide an annular passage therebetween.'a lower packer on said body disposed below said tubes, said annularpassage being operi at the bottom for the entry of liquid, an outletthrough `said upper packer from said passage, and an electricacircnitincluding a bridge having one leg that il'udes the casing and anelectrode well within said annular passage whereby fluid present betweenthe casing and the electrode constitutes the unknown impedance in saidleg, and means to indicate unbalancing of said bridge as caused byvariation in the electrical characteristics of the liquid passingthrough said passage,

'said body having a passage throughout its length for the flow of wellfluid from below the apparatus l so as to avoid closing of the wellduring use ot the apparatus.

3. A device for detecting the. nature and location of fluid entering awell bore'casing, having a passage throughout its length and carrying a.packer -near each end, an insulating sleeve encircling and spaced fromthe pipe and extending downwardly from said upper4 packer with itsforth.A Thtechnique of the invention includes such step of unbalancingwhere conditions are `finch that this feature is necessary.

It seems apparent that the desired measure- 'ments may be made at anylevel within the well and such measurements may `be either intermittentor continuous. It also seems apparent that the assembly I0 may remainstationary during the making of measurements or, if desired, suchassembly may be raised or lowered by means of cableil during the.measuring operations.

only radially outward opening adjustment said lower packer, anoutlet-from said sleeve through the upper packer, and means including anelectrical circuit connnected to the casing and having an electrodeinsulatingly carried by said pipe within the sleeve and spaced from saidoutward nature thereof.

MYRON M.' KINLEY.

